ACTION was taken to board up the old Accrington Conservative Club only hours after its run-down state was revealed on the front page of last week's Observer.

Workmen from Hyndburn Council arrived to secure the windows after we told how squatters had moved into one of the town's most imposing buildings.

The council's enviromental health department used emergency legislation to carry out the work after realising the risk to public health.

Ian Halliday, team leader for public health and housing, said: "The building has now been made more secure. The next stage will be for us to contact the owners to get them to pay for the work.

"If we fail to do so, or receive no reply, we will be forced to put an order on the building so we can recoup the money once it is sold."

After extensive inquiries we can reveal that the owner of the building is City Pace Ltd of Little Bromwich, Birmingham.

But it could not be contacted for comment this week.

The Land Registry, English Heritage and Victorian Society were all unable to tell us anything about the owners or future plans for the building.

Alex Baldwin, conservation adviser to the Victorian Society, said: "We're saddened to see one of Accrington's most impressive buildings in such a state.

"A handsome, Jacobean-style building full of history, it should be a source of pride for local people, not a cause for shame.

"If listed buildings like this club are not properly looked after, there is a danger they could be lost. That would be a great pity both for the people of Accrington and for Britain as a whole."

The Cannon Street club, built in 1891, was once the biggest Tory club in the country and its ballroom had the largest spring wood dance floor and a magnificent ornate ceiling. It was awarded grade 11 listed status.

After closing because the committee could not meet the maintenance costs of such a large building, it became Churchill's nightclub until 2002.

It has been empty since then after a planning application to transform the site into a leisure, flats and offices complex was rejected and it failed to meet its reserve price of £450,000 at auction.

The interior is now trashed and derelict, a home for pigeons and other vermin, and children use it as a playground.